Title The Greatest Generation Essays - Margaret Ringenberg

Title: The Greatest Generation Author: Tom Brokaw Summary: This book tells the stories of 50 young people who grew up during the depression and fought in World War II then came home to build America into a super power that could win the cold war. In one of the first lines of the book Tom Brokaw states, ?I think this is the greatest generation that society has ever produced.? I can't even imagine all the obstacles that they had to overcome. These men and women were born in the roaring twenties when our economy was booming and prohibition was in force. They went from boom to the greatest bust in American history, the great depression. They watched their parents lose their farms and business and then were called upon to fight the two greatest war machines of the twentieth century. After defeating these aggressors the young men and women came home and got married producing the baby-boomers. The GI bill allowed more of them to get a college education than any other generation. Instead of resting on their laurels they turned the industrial machine that won the war into one of greatest peacetime economies in history. The infrastructure of highways, bridges and dams that we use today was built by these enterprising men. There were also mistakes made, McCarthyism was allowed to flourish and racism went unchallenged for much to long. This book wasn't just about history but about people stories and experiences. Tom Brokaw presents a very balanced view telling not just stories about young white men storming the beaches on D-Day but also about women in the service and those who stayed home. He also tells the stories of Japanese and African American men who were fighting to defend a country that was persecuting them. Major Characters: There are 50 major characters in this book and it would impossible for me to even mention something meaningful about everyone of them so I will pick three that I thought exemplified the spirit of the book. Ordinary People, Charles O. Van Gorder, MD: Charles was a thirty-one year old captain when he was asked to drop behind enemy line with the paratroopers during the D-Day invasion. His glider crash landed at 4:00 am on June 6. He was lucky unlike so many others no one was hurt in his glider. That changed very quickly, by 9:00 am he and his fellow doctors had set up their MASH unit. Van Gorder and the other surgeons worked for 36 hours straight operating on hundreds of wounded paratroopers while wearing their combat helmets the whole time. When Charles finally went back to his tent to get some sleep he found that a German shell had hit and destroyed it just a few minutes earlier. Van Gorder stayed with the 101st Airborne division throughout 1944 until he was captured by German soldiers during the Battle of Bastone. Van Gorder had suffered shrapnel wounds in his so he had to be supported by his friend Dr. Rodda. Charles and the other POWs were packed into a box car headed east into Germany when their train came under attack from A merican fighters so Dr. Van Gorder organized the prisoners into a giant human sign saying: USA POWS. Not long after Charles and Dr. Rodda escaped and made their way back west to American lines. After serving for 5 years and 30 straight months overseas he finally returned home to his wife Helen. Helen had given birth to Rod while Charles was in North Africa but Rod died of SIDS with out ever having met his father. Van Gorder turn down a high paying, prestigious New York fellowship to set up a practice in his hometown of Andrews, Tennessee. Dr. Van Gorder spent the rest of his life caring for the loggers of that Smoky Mountain hamlet. Women in Uniform and Out: Margaret Ray Ringenberg When Margaret Ringenberg took her first flight at the age of 7 she fell in love with flying. So after she graduated from high school she started taking lessons at the local airfield and she got her pilots license when she was only 21, just in time to apply for WASP. WASP stood for Women's Air Force Service Pilots and

Ethics in Reporting Political Issues and Elections

Ethics in Reporting Political Issues and Elections Summary The first decade of democracy in South Africa saw drastic changes in the media in relation to the normative frameworks, the ownership of the media companies, and a broadening audience.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Ethics in Reporting Political Issues and Elections specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These changes propagated more friction between the government and the media because of content coverage, and the need for the politicians in power to protect their reputations. Structural issues of the media were a particular source of conflict between the media and the post-apartheid government. For instance, in 1994, Mandela was among the first politicians to condemn the media companies because they were racially imbalanced. Most of the companies were still owned by white men who had no experience in the dynamics of the difficult life that the majority of the South Africans led (Wasserman, 2006). The situation got worse toward the end of the 1990s, and the Human Rights Commission was compelled to conduct an investigation of the alleged cases of racism on the part of the media. Strengths and Weaknesses The conflict between the South African media and the government led to the development of a workshop to develop media ethics to ensure that the media didn’t serve as a tool for spreading racism. Thabo Mbeki, the successor of Mandela also indicated his worry that the media companies were extremely biased in reporting political issues of the nation (Wasserman, 2006). One of the strengths of the South African media over the years has been the ability to highlight the multicultural issues that face the citizens. Its greatest weakness has been the attainment of a balance in unbiased reporting in relation to the issues facing the minority and the majority racial groups.Advertising Looking for critical writing on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Significance and Implication to Ethics in Reporting The implications of ethical reporting in the nation were the development of cohesion in the society by using the media as a tool for preaching peace and love to the nation. Working under the set guidelines also meant that journalists in the different media houses had to take part in a national audit that evaluated their qualifications. The development of ethics in reporting saw the South African media undergo various phases of change. The media started from the exclusionary phase, whereby the whites and the blacks had their respective media reporters who covered information relevant to the respective groups. The threatening-issue phase was engulfed by the whites media reports that portrayed blacks as a threat to peace. The confrontational phase began after independence, whereby the government fought to change the ownership of the media. The stereotypical selection phase involved the elimination of racially focused reporting to address other stereotypes in the society like gender. The current stage is the multi-racial coverage stage, which entails the media and the government striving to eliminate racial bias in reporting. Contribution to Understanding International Media Through the lens of the eye of the South African Media, one can understand the dynamics of reporting, whereby the media is always on a quest to deliver public interests. Media reporting is a powerful tool that can build or destroy a society, depending on the willingness of companies to embrace reporting ethics. South Africa’s case also enlightens people about the constant conflicts that the international media companies face with different political entities. Critical Questions What is the distinction between public interests and national interests? Who is the victim in unethical reporting, the government, the media or the public? Should people always trust the media to deliver publi c interests? What can compel the media to become an advocate for national and international cohesion among the people in the society?Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Ethics in Reporting Political Issues and Elections specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Summary The article focuses on safety for journalists in their workplaces. Journalists who remain adamant about broadcasting the truth and criticizing politicians and their ideas have faced a rough time (â€Å"Media and Political Globalization,† 2011). Many journalists have been killed under mysterious circumstances that point to their boldness in reporting political issues. For instance, the beheading of the renowned journalist, Daniel Pearl, revealed the danger that journalists face in different parts of the world as they try to report on different political issues. Many international organizations have taken the responsibility of addressing the pligh t of journalists. For instance, UNESCO, CPJ, Reporters without Borders, and many other organizations have developed programs that look to advocate the protection of journalists and their freedom of expression. It is apparent that the globalization of politics has led to the rise in killings of journalist. In the past, journalists from different nations could mingle with conflicting groups without the danger of being attacked. In the current state of globalization, journalists are becoming easy targets for terrorist groups and other conflicting militants. Strengths and Weaknesses Many journalists have died in mysterious circumstances, and this is an indication that the freedom accorded to the media is only theoretical (â€Å"Media and Political Globalization,† 2011). Others have been killed while handling fieldwork, whereby their encounters with terrorists turns sour. Journalism is a dangerous profession, especially for those who dare to report controversial stories. The globa lization of the media and politics has led to an addition to the political pressures that journalists and their media companies face while reporting. One of the strengths of being in the media is the power to change the world through the delivery of authentic controversial political information. It is, however, a dangerous endeavor for most journalists.Advertising Looking for critical writing on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Significance and Implication to Ethics in Reporting Ethics in reporting dictate that the media should always give authentic information to the people. Inciting the society to make specific political decisions is unethical, and it should be eliminated by ensuring the media is protected from politicians and business entities (â€Å"Media and Political Globalization,† 2011). Failing to observe the required ethics presents the media as a direct enemy and hurdle to both public and national interests. Contribution to Understanding International Media The media companies are perfect tools for influencing political changes across the world. The article highlights different cases of journalists who have faced the ultimate injustice in the quest to bring information to the international community. The article clearly highlights the need for the international community to develop mechanisms to safeguard journalists in their work. Reporting issues of public and international interests ha s continually become a challenge because of the dangers that journalists face at work (â€Å"Media and Political Globalization,† 2011). The article paints a clear picture of the dangers of being involved in international journalism. The changing climate of politics in the globe has subjected journalists to murderous treatment by conflicting political groups, and this call for the international community to focus on the plight of journalists. Critical Questions What is the plight of journalists? What factors in the globalization of politics have led to the sudden change in the way conflicting groups treat journalists? Does the bias in reporting political issues have a role to play in the current challenges facing journalists across the world? Which intervention programs, besides the existing efforts, must be implemented? References Media and Political Globalization: Killing Stories-and Journalism. (2011). In J. Lule (Ed.), Globalization and Media: Global Village of Babel (pp. 95-120). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman Littlefield Publishers. Wasserman, H., De Beer, A. S. (2006). Debating the media’s role in post-apartheid South Africa. In K. Voltmer (Ed.), Mass media and political communication in new democracies (pp. 59-73). London: Routledge.